A New Vocal: A Rebuilt Editor, Verified Publishing, and a More Human Platform

Vocal turns 10 this year. A decade of stories. A decade of creators.

A few months ago, we shared A More Human Vocal, a look at where we believe the platform needs to go next.

Before we get into what's new, thank you for bearing with us over the past few weeks. Rebuilding core parts of the platform wasn't a small undertaking, and while the rollout had a few bumps along the way, your patience, feedback, and bug reports helped us get here.

Today, we're excited to begin bringing that vision to life.

Here’s what’s new...

A New Vocal Editor

This one was a long time coming.

Almost everything underneath the editor it is new, and if you have spent any time writing on Vocal, you will notice the difference immediately.

Here are some of the new features:

Autosave

This has probably been the most requested feature we have ever had. Every change you make is now saved automatically while you write. Close the tab. Refresh the page. Lose your connection for a minute. Your draft is still there.

Poetry Block

Dividers

Instead of using symbols or extra spacing, you now have a built in divider whenever your story needs a break.

Subscribe Buttons

If someone finishes your story, there is a good chance they would like to read more.

Now they can subscribe without leaving the page.

Share Buttons

If someone enjoys your work, sharing it should be simple.

Readers can now share your story directly from the reading experience.

Comment Buttons

Some stories start conversations. Like this one, what do you think about these changes?

The new comment button makes those conversations easier to find and join.

Custom Buttons

Whether it is your newsletter, website, portfolio, or something else entirely, you can now point readers wherever you want.

Author Cards

One of the best parts of Vocal has always been discovering new writers.

Author Cards let you feature other creators directly inside your story, making it easier to highlight great work and help others find new readers.

Code blocks

<p>Technical writing deserves proper tools, so we added a code block component.</p>

Code blocks now include syntax highlighting, along with inline code support, so you can share snippets, build tutorials, or write documentation with ease.

Slash commands

Type / on a new line in the editor and everything you need is right there. Once you get used to it, you will probably stop reaching for the +.

Preview

Before you publish, you can now preview your story exactly as readers will see it, making it easier to catch formatting issues and make final adjustments with confidence.

Better Publishing Experience

We also redesigned the Story Settings and Publish modals to make the final steps of publishing faster, clearer, and easier to navigate.

There are bunch of smaller improvements throughout the editor that you'll discover as you write, and we're excited to hear what you think.

The new editor also delivers a much better experience on Android. Historically, writing on mobile web hasn't been where we wanted it to be, and this rebuild gave us the opportunity to significantly improve it.

As we complete the rollout, the iOS and Android reader apps will be temporarily unavailable for a short time while we finish bringing everything over.

Starting today, publishing on Vocal requires a connected Stripe account.

If you already have one connected, nothing changes. If not, we'll ask you to connect it before you publish your next story.

This change serves two important purposes.

First, it makes earning on Vocal more transparent.

In the past, some creators accumulated earnings without realizing they hadn't completed their payout setup. By requiring Stripe before publishing, every creator who earns on Vocal is ready to get paid from day one.

Just as importantly, it helps us build a more trustworthy platform.

Stripe verifies the identity of creators through Know Your Customer (KYC), a widely used identity verification standard. That means every published story on Vocal now comes from a verified human, not an anonymous account or automated bot.

Verified creators will now receive a blue verification badge across the platform, making it easier for readers to know who's behind the work they're reading.

If you're here to read, nothing changes. You can still create an account, follow creators, comment on stories, and be part of the community without connecting Stripe. Verification is only required if you want to publish.

We know Stripe isn't available in every country yet, and we recognize that's a real limitation. Expanding verified publishing to more countries is something we're actively working on, and we'll continue opening access as Stripe becomes available in more regions.

Read Earnings Are Now Exclusive to Vocal+ Members

Starting today, read earnings are exclusive to Vocal+ members.

If you're already a Vocal+ member, nothing changes. Your stories will continue earning from reads just as they always have. If you're publishing on a free account, your stories will no longer earn through reads.

We know this is a significant change, and it wasn't one we made lightly. When we introduced read earnings, the goal was simple: reward creators for publishing work that people genuinely wanted to read.

Over time, protecting that system became increasingly difficult. Automated accounts, fake engagement, and an explosion of low-quality AI-generated content all began competing for the same pool of earnings as creators investing real time, effort, and originality into their work.

That's not the future we want for Vocal. By making read earnings a Vocal+ benefit, we're creating a stronger foundation for rewarding original human creators while continuing to invest in the long-term health of the platform.

I think it's important to also call out what hasn't changed. Tips continue to work exactly as they always have. You do not need to be a Vocal+ member to receive Tips. Simply connect your Stripe account and readers can support your work directly.

The Leaderboard also remains open to everyone, continuing to reward stories that resonate with readers.

Challenges will remain primarily a Vocal+ benefit, although we're exploring more opportunities to open select Challenges to the broader community.

And Vocal+ members will continue to have access to paid subscriptions, giving readers another way to directly support the writers they love.

What's Next

While this release includes some of the biggest changes we've made in years, it's only the beginning.

It lays the foundation for what's next: a better writing experience, better tools for creators, a more trustworthy publishing platform, and a stronger community built around original human storytelling.

Alongside everything you've seen here, we've shipped dozens of smaller improvements across the platform, and there's much more already in development.

Thank you again for bearing with us throughout this rollout. Rebuilding core parts of Vocal has been a massive undertaking, and your patience, feedback, and bug reports have helped us make it better every step of the way.

As always, we'll keep listening. Many of the changes in this release started as feature requests, bug reports, Creator Chats, and conversations with all of you. Please keep them coming.

We'd love to hear what you think about these updates, so leave a comment below and let us know what you'd like to see next.

Thanks for writing with us.